Craig: I've had the same thought. I've done some searching and what I've found is:

"Our Italian tomatoes are grown, peeled, and packaged at a well-known production facility located in the San Marzano region. Every tomato used in production is ripened to perfection before carefully being preserved in their containers. Our supplier has been preserving gourmet Italian tomatoes for over twenty years and its peeled tomatoes are world renowned for their unique flavor. Our most popular products include Italian Peeled, Italian Cherry, and Italian Crushed Tomatoes."

John: Thanks for the reply. When you say they are not San Marzanos, do you mean they are not D.O.P, or is there something else that makes them not San Marzanos at all? I pay $19.99 for a case of 12 28oz cans. I buy a couple of cases from the Italian market in Edmonton when I am home visiting my parents and bring them back to Victoria. They taste nice. Sweet and not too acidic.

There are a few specialty delis around Victoria that sell D.O.P. tomatoes but they are about $5.99 a can. I couldn't afford to use them all the time but I should try them to compare.

I just posted the label to show that I thought they were probably the same as the "La Ragina" can in the other image. Just thought maybe that was the label people in the US might know them by, if anyone knows them. Since I was really just curious to hear if anyone else had experience with this brand and what their opinions were.

Cool, Jeff. Will be interested to hear what you think. Just curious, are you in the US or Canada?

Brendan

Hey Brendon. I'm in the US-Chicagoland. We were considering buying a bunch if they were good for Christmas gift baskets but the store manager said they didn't have many so I passed. I'm interested to try them now.

I use these tomatoes regularly, but for cooked sauces, not pizza. I believe they are a step up from the standard Canadian commercial brands, but not a substitute for real San Marzanos. They are packed in a thick sauce, which I don't really like, but don't seem as acidic as Unico brand. (I am using the first can pictured above.)

I haven't tried any other brands of Italian style tomatoes, with the exception of Unico San Marzano, which was disappointing. I decided it was worth paying 4 or 5 bucks a can for the good stuff.

Got these today. I basically agree w ogdred that hey are decent but I wouldn't use them in an uncooked sauce. Can was lined which was nice, and the ones I got were imported by a Chicago importer as you see in the pic. Also, I'm not sure if they went up or I remembered wrong when I previously posted, but they were 1.79 a can today. They just seemed a bit flat with a slight metallic or off taste on the finish to me. I cooked them down a bit with salt, basil, and a little sugar and they were better.

Thank you both for your input. I've been using these for uncooked sauce and haven't had any real complaints with them although I do notice the slight metallic aftertaste you mention, Jeff. However I always put a splash of good quality extra virgin olive oil in my sauce to deepen the flavour and balance the acidity, and I am unable to detect any off flavours once the oil is added. On the weekend I had a pizza party and bought a can of DOP tomatoes. There's no question they were better quality but were they 2.5 times as good (the difference in price)? I don't think so. I'll probably continue to use the La Regina's for when I'm just making pizza for myself, but if I'm having a gathering and want everything to be as good as possible I'll spend the extra few bucks.

Ogdred, you are right that they are vastly superior to Unico brand, and basically the same price. Have you tried Italissima brand? Not the DOP San Marzano (orange can) but the regular Italian plum (yellow can)? That is the brand I used to go for before buying the La Regina's by the case. They are around the same price I think, maybe 25 or 50 cents more. I should try them again.

Jeff, I noticed in the picture you posted that salt is not listed in the ingredients, whereas it is on the cans I have. I wonder if that contributed to you finding them flatter and having more of a pronounced metallic aftertaste.

Jeff, I noticed in the picture you posted that salt is not listed in the ingredients, whereas it is on the cans I have. I wonder if that contributed to you finding them flatter and having more of a pronounced metallic aftertaste.

Nice catch Brendan, I bet that has something to do with it. Like I said when I seasoned and cooked them they were good, and if you're happy...

I use these almost exclusively. I live an hour from the Canadian border and and buy them there. I am always buying various DOP brands but to my taste I prefer these. Then consider about $1.50 a can compared to $5 for DOPs. Do a blind test, then judge. One down side is they are packed in a puree, I use just the tomatoes. Pepper, salt and occasionally a little lemon juice. Just my $.02

Ogdred, you are right that they are vastly superior to Unico brand, and basically the same price. Have you tried Italissima brand? Not the DOP San Marzano (orange can) but the regular Italian plum (yellow can)? That is the brand I used to go for before buying the La Regina's by the case. They are around the same price I think, maybe 25 or 50 cents more. I should try them again.

I have tried 6 or 7 DOP brands available around in specialty stores, until I found DOP Pastene tomatoes at Loblaws, which I get for 3.50 a can. I have always meant to try the non DOP Italian tomatoes to see if they're worth it. I am convinced the extra price is worth it, especially for the basic cheese and basil pizza NY style I normally make. If I made a pepperoni pizza I am not sure the difference would be as apparent.

The purée is strangely off putting to me. Someone else mentioned just using the tomatoes, which might work too. That said, I like these La San Marzano tomatoes enough to use them for any of my cooked soups and pasta sauces, and they are extremely cheap by the flat at Costco.

Do you see ever see the Unico San Marzanos out West? I tried them just once, and was disappointed, but curious if you have tried them.